Carton



J. P. MARKERT.

CARTON.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 28,1919.

1,352,759. PatentedSept. 14,1920.

INVENTOR ab/1 E'Mar/ierf ATTORNEY J M LAM UNITED aonnnnn'nxnnr, ornnw'roiix, n. y.

cannon,

Specification of'Lettcrs Batent.

Patented Sept. '14, 1920.

- A neaEHniea June 28, 1919. Serial no. 307,279.

To all whom it may concern:

-' Be it known that 1, JOHN P. Mannnn i,

' a citizen of the United-States, residing at New York city, in thecounty of Kmgs and State of New York, have invented new and usefulImprovements in Car-tons, of which i the following is a specification.

My inventlon relates to cartons and particularly to. cartons for packingperishable articles held out of contact 'with each other.

An object of my invention is to provide a carton having a transverseshelf positively 4 held against movement and adapted to hold a pluralityof fragile or perishable articles out of contact with each other-and toprevent them from moving in the carton during shipment.

A further object is to provide a carton made of a single sheet andhaving a transverse shelf positively held in position when the carton isclosed.

I also provide a carton made of one piece and having a transverse shelf,which can be readily knocked down and shipped in fiat condition andwhich at the same time can be very easily and rapidly folded intoposition to receive articles therein.

My container also dispenses entirely with tongue and slot connectionsfor its parts but is substantial and strong when .in folded position andnot liable to be deranged or collapsed.

Cartons formerly produced for a similar I purpose have commonly beencomposed of ready for folding,

a plurallty of parts making assembling more diflicult and involving adanger 0 loss of parts. Others have been complicated in structure,requiring numerous folding processes, the time consumed in assemblingthem, making their use expensive in actual practice. Others are soconstructed that upon opening them' they practically collapse losingtheir box-like structure. I

I have made the invention herein disclosed with the object of avoidingthesedifliculties and of producing a carton that will be cheap tomanufacture and'assemble, easy to ship and strong in use,oneillustration of which is set forth in the following specification anddisclosed in the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1, is a plan-View of the blank before folding, Fig. 2, is aperspective view of the carton I Fig. 3, is a similar View partlyfolded,

F g. 4, is a transverse cross section,

F g. 5, s a longltud inal cross sectipn, and

-F 1g. 6, 1s a perspectlve view of the folded carton.

The carton is composed of ends, 1 and 2, and s1des-3 and 4, lap 5 beingattached to one end of side 4 and serving as means for permanentlyconiectin the end of side 4 to end 1 by gluing. nds 1 and 2 each haveupper and lower flaps 6 -for folding from one edge of side 4 isomer 7having tucking flap 8; and extending from the other said side 4 isbottom 9 havingsimilar tucking fiap 10. v Extending from the upper edgeof side 3 (the lower edge in the blank; shown in Fig. 1) is thesuspendmg flap 11 continuous therewith, which is extended to form shelf12, having at its farther edge flap 13 and at its side edges flaps lland 15. Shelf 12 may be apertured in suitable 'manner to accommodatethe articles intended to be carried by the carton. In the illustratedexample it is pierced by a series of circular apertures 16 With thecarton I inwardly in the usual manner. Extending each having radialslots 17 adapted to receive the stem of an electric light bulb. Ifdesired the fold lines between side 3 and flap 11," and between flap '11and shelf 12, may be slitted, as at 18, to facilitate folding along saidlines.

In practice the box is first assembled by gluing lap 5 to end 1, shapingthe box as shown in Fig. 2. In this form the box may be collapsed bydiagonally flattening it and is shipped in this form, there being noparts to lose and no portions likely to be broken off, as is the casewhere there are several arts to a carton or where tongues are used. Vhenreceived by the purchaser it is folded into shape. This is preferablydone by inserting the lower edge of side 3 (the carton being in the formshown in Fig. 2') in a kerf in a block of wood slightly, shorter thanthe box, the depth of the kerf being approximately equal tn the distanceof the shelf above the bottom of the carton. The

- operator then folds flaps 14 and 15 inward andflap 13 outward with onemovement. While the box is held in this position the shelf is forceddownwardly into the body of the carton to the position shown in Fig. 3,(the bottom of the carton however beingengaged, thus closing the "bottomof thebox. Obviously other methods of folding may be used but thismethod is the preferred one.

1 It is to be noted that flaps 14 and 15 are exactly equal in depth tothe distance between shelf 12 and the bottom of the carton while flaps11 and 13 are exactly equal in ,depth to the distance of said shelf fromthe top of the carton. When the carton is in v closed position theseflapswill butt against the top and bottom of. the carton respectivelyand the shelf will not only "be supported along all its sides but willbe positively prevented from moving either upwardly or downwardly. Byvarying the depth of said shelf'flaps, the distance ofthe shelf from thetop and bottom of the carton can be varied and its angle in relationthereto can also be determined if it be'considered desirable to have theshelf tilted rather than parallel to the top and bottom.

While I have'described the shelf as integral with thevrestof the cartonit may be separate therefrom and either permanently attached thereto orentirely free and separate.

While I have described the preferred form of my invention it is obviousthat many changes in details may be made without departing from thespirit of my invention as covered in the following claims;

It will be apparent, for instance, that flaps 14 and 15 may, with equalfacility, be. up ward and flap 13 downward, as the shelf will bepositively supported by this arrangement as well as in the form abovedescribed. Furthermore, while I have described one part as the top andanotheras the bottom, it will 'be apparent that either may be used asthe top. 7 I

What I claim is:

1; A carton includingside walls formed from a single continuous strip ofmaterial v and having their upper edges on substantially the same plane,a bottom, a top, an

intermediate shelf adapted to lie transversely of the carton betweensaid top and bottom when in closed position, means for hingedlyconnecting one edge of the shelf to one side of the' carton' with saidedge lo-- cated against said side and below the upper wall edge thereof,an integral 'fiap' carried by said shelf and extending downwardlyintdengagement with .the carton bottom, and

m an integral flap carried by said shelf and extending upwardly in toengagementwith the carton top the construction being such that saidshelf is held positively against both upward and downward movement bythe engagement of said extensions with the top and bottom of the carton,when closed, and the carton may be collapsed diagonally by folding saidshelf outwardly about saidhinged connection.

2. A carton made from a material, including side walls formed from avsingle continuous strip and having their upper edges on substantiallythe same plane,

single sheet of M a bottom, a top, an intermediate shelf adapted to lietransversely of the carton between said top and bottom when in closedposition,

a hinge strip connecting the upper edge of a side wall with the adjacentedge of the shelf located against the wallbelowsaid wall edge when inclosed position, an integral flap carried by said shelf and extendmgdownwardly into engagement with the carton bottom, and an integral fl apcarried by said shelf and extending upwardly into engagement with thecarton top, v the construction being such that said shelf is heldpositively against both upward and downward movement by the engagementof said extensions with the top and bottom of the v carton, when closed,and the carton'may be collapsed diagonally by folding said shelfoutwardly about said hinged connection.

3.v A carton made from a single sheet of material and including sidewalls formed from a single continuous strip, having their upper edges onsubstantially the same plane," a bottom element hingedly connected to -aside wall, a top element hinged to a side wall, an intermediate shelfadapted to :lie. transversely of the carton between said top and bottomelements when in closed position, a hinge strip connecting the upperedge of a side wall with the adjacent edge of the shelf located againstthe wall below said wall edge when in closed position, flaps carried bythe edges of the shelf adjacent the hinged edge thereof and extendingalong the sides of the carton in the same direction into engagement withone of saidelements,'- and a flap carried by the edge of the shelfopposite to the hingededge and extending along the adjacent side of. thecarton'in the opposite direction into engagement with the other element,the construction being such that said fiapsand hinge-strip maintain theshelf against vertical movement when the carton is closed, and saidcarton may be collapsed diagonally by extending said-shelf,

as; W JOHN R-MARKERTL 1 "hinge strip and flaps in continuation of the

